1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a device for monitoring the activity of a person and/or detecting a fall, in particular with a view to providing help in the event of an incident hazardous to life or limb. An incident of the above kind can be a fall suffered by the person, for example.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There currently exist networks for monitoring persons, in particular elderly persons, comprising a monitoring center able to call in helpers (qualified medical personnel, neighbors, family members, etc) in response to alarms that can be generated by the persons monitored. The latter are usually in their home which is within the coverage area of the network and can therefore, in the event of an incident, alert the monitoring center by operating an alarm button on a unit worn on the wrist or around the neck, for example. The unit contains an alarm signal generator providing a wireless connection to a home unit that transmits the signal to the monitoring center, usually via the public switched telephone network.
A problem with this type of alert procedure is that it requires the intervention of the person at risk (active alarm implying action by the wearer) with the result that if the situation is serious to the point of causing panic in the person affected, total immobilization or even total loss of consciousness, no alarm signal can be sent Furthermore, existing systems do not include any means of determining if the unit is actually being worn by the person.
An aim of the invention is to propose a device of the general type indicated hereinabove which remedies the drawbacks of prior art monitoring devices.